Friday, February 17, 2006
God Feels!
God feels!
One of the obstacles that people may encounter in pursuing the knowledge of the love of God is the obstacle of theology. Theology is not a bad thing; it’s a good thing. However, when our theology hinders our ability to really “hear” what the Bible is saying, it becomes an obstacle. The Bible is the Word of God. It should shape and form our theology, not the other way around.
In this article, we’re going to be examining one very important aspect of what God’s love for us is like. But first, let’s see how theology can get in the way of recognizing this aspect of God’s love for you. Let’s begin with a little theology lesson…
Anthropomorphic language
According to Merriam Webster, the definition of anthropomorphic is: described or thought of as having a human form or human attributes
In Christianity, this term is basically used of Biblical language that describes God as having any attributes that are thought to be “human.” Here’s an example: and they saw the God of
This verse describes God as having feet. Many scholars would say: “Well, God is a Spirit, He’s not a man. He doesn’t really have feet! This is just anthropomorphic language.”
And when they say it’s just anthropomorphic language, it’s as if they are saying, “This verse is just ascribing something human to God in order to give us something we can understand since we can’t really understand what He’s like. We’re not really supposed to think that God has feet!”
These people think of anthropomorphisms as if they are conveying something which is untrue. But, let’s examine this more closely:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
There is a lot of anthropomorphic language in Scripture. Why? Anthropomorphisms are the Spirit’s attempt to help us understand something about God. This language is not conveying something untrue. Rather, it’s conveying something MORE. For instance, in the same way we hear, God hears more. MORE! He hears MORE!
Here’s another example: “Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.” Psalm 103:13
He will have MORE compassion! His heart will respond like a loving Father—MORE!
Anthropomorphic language in the Scriptures is highly revelatory.
Let’s look at: Psalm 94:8-9 8 Pay heed, you senseless among the people; And when will you understand, stupid ones? 9 He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see?
The correct answer to that question, according to the context is: “Of course He hears! He hears MORE! Of course He sees, but He sees MORE!”
Here’s a similar question to the one we just looked at in Psalm 94: He Who formed the heart, does He not feel?
God Feels MORE!
Now, let’s examine some verses that talk to us about the emotions of God. Remember, these verses are not conveying something untrue about God, as if “God doesn’t really feel. That language is just because we can’t really understand Him.” Rather, just as God formed us with emotions, God also feels—He just feels MORE.
Try to read the following verses with the emotion noted before the verse is quoted. Ask for illumination into God’s heart from the Holy Spirit. Try to center your attention on the love God has for us. God’s heart is filled with loving devotion towards us. When we are unfaithful God’s heart feels utterly betrayed, broken, bereft, grief stricken and extremely angrily jealous! God wants us to know His passionate intense personal love!
God Who Delights!
The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalm 147:11
Yahweh the Smitten God:
Isaiah 62:3-5 3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken," Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate"; But you will be called, "My delight is in her," And your land, "Married"; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married. 5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you.
Jehovah Who Pines For You - Is God Wistful?
Jeremiah
Jeremiah 3:6-7 6 Then the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, "Have you seen what faithless
Adonai the Broken Hearted …
This verse is very powerful. There is a word in Hebrew that testifies to God’s heart being broken in pieces. If this wasn’t in the Bible, I don’t know that I would dare to make this statement.
Ezekiel 6:9 "Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt (broken in pieces, ruined) by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols; and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations.
He is a Jealous Husband:
James 4:5 5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"?
The Lord Who Longs
The Lord regretfully remembers better days. He remembers and longs for former faithfulness.
Jeremiah 2:2 "Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown.
Elohim Who Looks Forward to…
He looks forward to the restoration of the relationship and determines to strengthen the bond so that the separation doesn’t happen again.
Hosea 2:19-20 19 "I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, 20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD.
Jeremiah 24:7 7 'I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.
This is God’s heart. He is a feeling God. He feels towards you. His love for you is intense and emotional. It is deep and real.
Can you imagine today by faith that God’s heart yearns for you? Do you see how passionate He is about His relationship with you? Can you sense His devotion, affection, deep personal love? Do you believe that He is jealously longing for you, looking forward to eternity with you? God wants you to embrace the feeling heart of God today! He is the God Who Delights in you.
Ephesians 3:19-2A 19 … to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory …
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Benefits: Relationship
Psalm 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;
Ephesians 3:19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Relationship with the Father
Last month we began to examine some benefits of knowing the love of God. From Ephesians 3:19 we learned that the “fullness of God” in the Body is received through knowing Jesus’ love. We observed that in His relationships with God and creation Jesus is the pattern for what fullness looks like (Col 1:19;2:9). Every benefit we receive from knowing the love of God eventually leads to this: being conformed to the image of the Son. This transformation is our ultimate destiny:
Romans 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
This month’s topic is relationship with the Father.
The core of Jesus’ identity as a man is clearly His relationship with His Father. In the Gospel of John, Messiah spoke of God as “Father” over 120 times. In the Synoptics, Jesus spoke of God as “Father” over 90 times. Think briefly about this. There are many times wherein He used the word “father” to discuss earthly fathers. But mostly, when Jesus used the term “father” it was in relation to His Father. Jesus was constantly talking about His Father! It’s not stretching Jesus’ priorities to say this was the central relationship of His life. Jesus had (and has) perfect communion with the Father. If we are seeking to model our lives after the Messiah, to grow in “Christ-likeness” the first step, by necessity, is this issue of relating to the Father
When we examine Jesus’ self-disclosure we find that His entire life and ministry was relational. Looking at Jesus’ words, we find that He professed to know the Father, to see the Father, to hear the Father, to know what the Father was doing. He maintained that the Father was revealing Himself to Jesus, and claimed to be able to reveal the Father to others.
“For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing.” John 5:20a
“…He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world." John 8:26b
28 So Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29 "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." 30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. John 8:28-30
"I speak the things which I have seen with My Father …” John 8:38a
The secret of this relationship was not primarily the maintaining of His own holiness, practices of piety or love of humanity. Here is the secret of His relationship to God: He knew Abba loved Him and He knew Abba’s love. This love Jesus experienced has become the foundation of our mandate to abide in His love: “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” (John 15:9) We really are to know Jesus’ love in the same way the Son of God knew His Father.
I believe that Jesus maintained His “first-eternal consciousness” of Father. The pre-incarnate Son had this awareness, “Father lovingly, devotedly, absolutely loves Me,” from eternity past. Jesus never lost this awareness and in maintaining it, Jesus lived with an incredible spontaneity in His relationship with Abba.
Look at this: John 8:31-36 31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." 33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free '?" 34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 "The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Was Jesus offering a freedom He did not have? No -- He knew that He was loved. He did not live in some sort of spiritual straightjacket. It came from the freedom of a deep bond with God. This bond was developed through His response to the revelation of His Father’s initiating action. The Father showed His Son everything He was doing. The Son responded in cooperative partnership. This blossomed into the type of relationship in which the Son could choose to reveal the Father.
The Messiah knew God-as-Father so well that He could anticipate what God would do. He knew what would please Abba. He was able to recognize the Father’s activity in the lives of others. The man Jesus really knew His Father!
Look at Jesus’ indictment of His antagonists: “…You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.” John 5:37b
First of all, in this charge it is indicated that people are responsible to know God. The first commandment, “You shall love the LORD your God…” implies relationship. The God of the Bible is constantly seeking humanity. He is knowable and desires to make Himself known.
In this statement is the implication that the Messiah knew Father’s voice and saw His appearance. (The Greek word is ‘eidos’ which refers to what is visible to the eye form, (external) appearance) Let me ask you a question: Do you know the people you live with? Does your time with them give you insight into their personalities? Are you aware of issues that are important to them, things they enjoy, what they strongly dislike? If this is true in most human relationships, will our experience of abiding in Jesus and His love produce less?
Just as Jesus knew the Father, so we are called to know Him. Jesus knew the Father’s character and personality. He knew Father’s plans and desires. He saw the Father’s activity and knew His power. The Messiah walked in an ongoing relationship with God.
One of the results of knowing God as Jesus did is the capacity to reveal the Father to others. When God wanted to reveal Himself to humanity He chose to do so through someone who knew Him, the Son. This revelation of God was put into Jesus’ hands. The Son could ‘will’ to reveal the Father.
Matthew 11:27 "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
The Son, who knew the Father, who could choose to reveal the Father, was the revelation of the Father
Hebrews 1:1-2a God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son,
The Living God has redeemed us so we may have a loving relationship with Himself. Through abiding in this relationship we are filled with the fulness of God. The primary benefit we receive from knowing Jesus’ love is entering into a relationship with God that resembles the interaction of the Trinity. They communicate and know One another. This relationship is open to us. We enter in as we are filled with the knowledge of His love.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
LIFE MESSAGES
2. Of those 10, what would you most like to communicate to others? If they were to embrace them, which would do them the most good?
3. What character and ministry qualities have been noted by others in your life?
4. There are principles which you have consciously or unknowingly embraced (in the midst of life situations or through teaching, or by "revelation") which have produced a unique walk with God. What are these principles?
5. Put another way ... What principles of spiritual life would a corporate group, or an individual, have to embrace to develop the same walk with God you have?
6. What Biblical narratives or principles are illustrated through your life?
7. What is the Lord trying to say to the world and the Body of Christ through the epistle of your life?
8. Have you urgently, seriously, sought God about increasing the calling and ministry to which you have been called?
9. Don't covet another's inheritance! What parcel of land are you to possess?
10. Pray about God's depth and Jesus' ministry being expressed through you...
11. Don't be satisfied, there is much land left for you to possess!
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Life Eternal
Abiding in God’s love is the present experience of eternal life. In John 17:2-3 Jesus said, “Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. [3] "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.
In these verses we find that eternal life comes from Jesus and can be defined as knowing God the Father and Jesus the Messiah; in essence, eternal life is a relationship with God. Eternal life is knowing God by experience, not just knowing about God, or believing in God. The point of redemption, on our end, is that we may experientially know God.
If we want to know what “knowing God” looks like, we must look at the Messiah’s relationship with His Father. Nobody ever has or ever will know God better than Jesus! Looking at Jesus is the best way to see spiritual truth. Our hearts might rebel, saying, “No let’s look at my own experience…” But the Bible says “Let’s look at Jesus.” So, what was Jesus’ experience of knowing God like?
Looking at Jesus
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments you will abide in My love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:9,10)
In these verses, Jesus is giving us instructions for our relationship with Himself, but He is also revealing some important things about His relationship with the Father (after all, His relationship is the pattern for ours!) Here we see that Jesus knew that the Father loved Him. (“…the Father has loved Me”) We also see that He understood what this love for Him was like; how else can He say “just as He… I have also…?” So, Jesus knew His Father loved Him, and He experienced this love. Not only that, but He goes on to tell us that He abided in (remained in, stayed in, experienced an ongoing awareness of) His Father’s love. Jesus’ relationship with God was filled with receiving the love of His Father! This foundation established His relationship with Father. It is the core of a spiritually mature relationship with God. It is the experience of eternal life.
Looking at Jesus’ description of His experience, we see that knowing God includes interacting with holy love. For Jesus this meant the awareness of the affection, devotion, commitment, and approval directed toward Him. If you think the only times Jesus ever heard “You’re my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” were when God spoke “publicly,” you are probably mistaken. After all, Jesus said He abided in His Father’s love; this was an ongoing experience. Jesus wants us to have this same experience. We too are to live in the awareness of His affection, devotion, commitment, and approval for us. Jesus graciously commanded us to abide in His love because He desires His disciples to have the same relationship with Him as He had with the Father. We are called to an unimpeded, unhindered, ongoing fellowship with the risen Messiah right now.
Religion Revolts Against Abiding
Looking at the record of Jesus’ life, we also see that Jesus’ relationship with His Father (abiding in the Father’s love) produced fruit. This fruit was manifest in the living river of love and power flowing through Him to others. Jesus’ knowing Father’s love resulted in other people’s deliverance and salvation. In the same way, through abiding in His love, we will manifest the fruit of love towards others and experience the power to set them free from hellish strongholds. As men and women of God we will be enabled to go into situations and have God’s love revealed through us because we experientially know the heart and love of God.
Bearing fruit is the result of an ongoing encounter of His love. It is a result of the experienced reality (not merely the idea) of His love. Yet, there are some who resist this emphasis. There’s something about being commanded to stay in a conscious awareness of God’s love that rankles the religious view of reality; religion just doesn’t like to receive.
Religious motivation seeks to increase the load of overburdened souls. Religion generally hates the justifying work of the Messiah. Religion’s pathetically helpless pride hates the gift of imputed righteousness. Religion demands that we labor to earn absolution or toil to purchase pardon.
Sometimes religion bows to Jesus’ justifying work only to rebel at a different level. It manifests in resistance to the very reason justification has taken place; the experience of God. It is possible to pursue apparently noble goals (such as spiritual disciplines, personal holiness, or effectiveness in ministry) and ignore the whole point of redemption! The prophetic principle, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone” (Psalm 118:22) is constantly being fulfilled in our day. God is calling, “Come, get to know My love.” But religious scruples say, “Require me to do something burdensome.” Religion says, “Command me to flagellate myself. Obligate me to do something, anything, which is either unpleasant or punitive. Then I’ll feel better about myself. I can earn God’s love.”
This is whitewashed tomb language. This is the appearance of godliness rather than the heart of sanctity. The heart of sanctity is receiving. The heart of sanctity is loving God in response to the experience of abiding in His love. The heart of sanctity is grateful reciprocation to the act of love which brought about redemption. The heart of sanctity is a relationship with the God who is love. That is the heart of sanctity.
Jesus told us that there is one primary command. What does it say? Does it say, “You shall love the idea of God with all of your heart mind soul and strength. You shall love the information about Him.”? Does it say, “You shall love the ethical demands which proceed from Him with all of your heart mind soul and strength.”? Or perhaps, “You shall seek to serve Me and labor hard for Me with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength.”?
No, it doesn’t say that. It says, “You shall love the Lord your God. You shall love the God Who has redeemed you, He with Whom you are in covenant.” Each redeemed believer is in covenant with God through the wounds and the blood and the death of His Son. “You shall love Him with all of your heart.” That’s the heart of sanctity.
There’s a reason the first commandment is the first. Jesus emphasized this as foremost because it is intrinsically the most important! How will we ever fulfill this commandment? Jesus gives us a secret. He says, “Receive.” You get saved by receiving. How do you grow? 6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. (Colossians 2:6-7)
Jesus told us, “he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing..” (John 15:5). In the same passage, He also commanded us, “abide in My love.” Receive the command. Receive Jesus’ love. Don’t let religion fool you. If you abide, you will bear fruit.
Monday, May 09, 2005
Faith!
The most elementary principle of faith, and, in my opinion, the key to all others, is the law of sowing and reaping. Abundant, persistent, sowing (if the field is maintained) produces a bumper crop.
If you sow faith toward God you will reap a reward by the Spirit.. Jesus said, "Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly."
In order to receive from God, one must sow faith! James 1;5-8 reads, "If any of you lacks wisdom, should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt , because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all he does." Brethren, herein is contained the most basic principle of answered prayer. Unadorned faith.
In Galatians 3:5 Paul questions all who will ever employ a "carrot - stick" theology, "Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?" Brethren, this is a question worth looking at! Do you believe what you have heard?
Persistence
Another faith principle is found in Isaiah 62:1,6,7, "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. I have posted watchmen on your walls O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You reminders of the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth." Here we find that persistent diligence is enjoined. God ordained intercession day and night until the answer He had already established came. God's priesthood worked three 8 hour shifts, every day. Remember, God's dealings with Israel are windows into spiritual reality. Faith perseveres in prayer.
Knowing His Will
1 John 5:14,15 reads, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of Him."
What do we truly believe is according to His immediate will? If that is settled than we know that He hears us! We receive His will.
The following are some questions to ask yourself: What do you truly believe is God's will in any specific situation in your life. In your family's, friends' or fellowship's lives? When you have determined what you believe, pray along those lines!
The Problem of Presumptuous Prayer
Praying with presumption is taking the promises and principles of God's word and divorcing them from His purposes.
When this prayer is not absolutely riddled with selfishness, we can charitably call it "Overextended Faith." Do not overextend your faith. Extend your faith to the limit of, but not beyond, what you truly believe. This is abiding in Messiah and being a responsible steward of your relationship with God.
We see examples of this with Jeremiah's confrontations with the attitude of Judah (Zion theology) and with a false prophet the extrapolation of that false theology: “We can never fall, God’s temple is here!”).
Overextended faith demoralizes the believer. It alienates the believer from a] the true degree of faith he has, b] the witness of the Spirit, and c] God's purposes.
Some alternatives and ways of avoiding "overextended faith" are, a] having an overarching understanding of the sweep of scripture and praying in line with that, b] hearing the current "word," of the Spirit, and c] subordinating impressions to the scripture and the brethren (remember the two or three Jesus spoke of ?).
Faith is the Friend of Relationship to God.
Faith in the "trustworthiness" of our Active God is the foe of fear! The Gift of Faith is produced by the Holy Spirit through our spirit/soul and body. Our entire humanity (the image of God) experiences it and releases it and then "the waters part!" God acts salvifically in situations where - apart from faith - things would remain the same.
The gift of faith is informed by the Scriptures:
The Word is the wood,
The quickening of the Spirit is the spark,
Faith is the flame!
Praying according to God's will, as revealed in the Scriptures, is a sure guide to fellowship with God. Presumption comes through having one's own agenda. We must remain faithful to God.
Sealing Petition With Praise
You know your faith is real when it can be truly accompanied with thanksgiving! (Philippians 4) This is necessary because the enemy comes to steal the word of the Kingdom, the promise God has made plain to you.
Do you believe you will receive what you have asked? Then thank Him for the answer. Praise Him for the Divine Characteristics that make the answer sure.
It is good to memorize, quote, pray, and speak (in conversation at "relevant times") the verses that have made faith real to you. This strengthens your heart and is part of using the Sword of the Spirit, the rhema of God. {a definition of rhema: the spoken logos (word)}
There is a pattern given in Hebrews 13 - "Because God has said, ... So we say with confidence, ... " Find what God has said, respond verbally. Hebrews 13:15 encourages us to give thanks verbally, "The fruit of our lips, giving thanks." When we vocalize, the entire man -- spirit soul and body -- is involved. The entire man is the image of God.
When Peter walked on the water. His confidence in Messiah needed to be maintained. When God's image, in Jesus's name (standing in redemption), offers thanks at the end of prayer, the faith that energized prayer is maintained and guarded. This is important so that the answer may come. Maintain your confidence to the end until your answer comes.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Response
Eventually we, even in our failure to appropriately respond to this great love, begin to look a little bit more like the One we are seeing. Our heart longs, “Oh, I wish that I loved Him more…”
Then, all of a sudden, someone says, “I haven’t seen you in 7 years. You have really grown in your relationship with God. I can tell that you love Him so much more.”
And you’re saying to yourself, “If only you knew. If only you knew as to how much I do not love Him in the way of which He is worthy. If only you knew.”
They’ve observed growth. They’re seeing maturity.
What are you seeing? All you are seeing is the worthiness of the Lamb and the lack of capacity to return that love - His limitless love, your finite response.
Until heaven or the resurrection (when we are finally, utterly changed and transformed) our love may be rather limited and conflicted. Yet, the love of God continues to pursue us. As that love unfolds we become increasingly consecrated to Him - if we stay in a real relationship with Him… if we stay in the fire.
Some may appear like they have put their consecration and growth on hold.
I have seen the aftermath of God working on people over periods of years. I have seen spurts of growth and transformation in lives where I would just have to say, “Look at that person, they have become a worshipper.” And now they are worship leaders. Before, they were cold, uptight, and non-responsive. Their emotions couldn’t be reached. Then God hammered away at them five years, ten years and the change came. I’ve seen this type of thing happen with people.
I hope to see this happen more in my own life.
Monday, February 21, 2005
“Set apart for God.” That’s what being holy is.
Our sanctification, the process of our becoming more and more holy, is the result of having been made holy.
There is an extraordinary difference between one who hallows the name of the Messiah and one who ignores or demeans that Name. There is an essential difference between one who reveres the work God has done at Calvary and the person who does not. There is an extraordinary difference of foundational existence.
Sanctification proceeds from the foundation of being set apart. We grow in holiness through the give and take of both God’s initiative and our corresponding response. Sanctification is a living thing that is essentially relational. It is the result of cultivating an ongoing relationship with God
We don’t grow into the status of being holy. Through Calvary’s labor actuated by faith, we are a holy people. We are progressively transformed as we develop what God has placed within us. In essence, it’s an outworking of our real identity and destiny. We’re instructed to act in accordance with that which is worthy of our calling. Not being … ingrates.
“Ingrate” is a great word by the way. It helps to describe the person who has received the grace of God and has nevertheless refused to respond in a fashion that looks in any way commensurate to the love God has displayed for that individual. So, I suppose most of us will always have to plead “guilty” to one degree or another. However, in recognizing where one falls short we receive grace to persevere
He loves you although you are what you’re like. Recognizing this is part of abiding in the love of God. It is part of the tension of being saved and hearing the resultant upward call. I don’t know if we will ever be released from that tension while we’re on this planet, or pre-resurrection.
This produces stress in many. That stress can be illustrated in this question, “How do I abide in Jesus’ love while I am so unworthy of His devoted affection?”
Answering that type of question is what the Love of God project is about.
